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Monday, January 12, 2015

Blending was pioneered by Andrew Usher in Edinburgh in the early 1860s. It was
only after this practice became common that a taste for Scotch Whisky spread
first to England and then throughout the world.

The reason for this was that Pot Still Malt Whisky was inclined to be too
strongly flavoured for everyday drinking, especially by people in sedentary
occupations and warm climates. By combining Malt Whisky with Grain Whisky,
which has less pronounced characteristics, the demand for a whisky that is
milder in flavour and more suited to the conditions of modern life can be met.

What is the
percentage of Malt and Grain Whiskies in blended Scotch Whisky?

There is no fixed percentage and the proportion differs from one blender to
another. No brand owner is willing to reveal the proportions of the different
whiskies used, but the blender determines the proportion according to the character
he is seeking for his blend. This character is determined not only by the
proportions of Malt and Grain Whisky which it contains, but also by factors
such as the ages of the individual whiskies and the manner in which they
combine to bring out the finest qualities in each other.

What is a deluxe blended Scotch Whisky?

It is a blend which contains a higher proportion of carefully selected older
and, therefore, more expensive whiskies. When there is an age label on a bottle
of blended whisky, does it refer to the average age of the whiskies in that
blend?
No. The law requires that when the age
is declared on a label, it must refer to the youngest whisky in the blend.

For example, if a blend is described as an eight year old, the youngest whisky in
that blend must have been matured for at least eight years.

Is it legal to sell whisky which is less
than three years old for consumption in this country?

No. Although the spirit is distilled under the strict conditions applied to the
production of Scotch Whisky, it is not entitled to be described as Scotch
Whisky until it has matured for three years. This does not apply to compounded
spirits such as gin, vodka and liqueurs.

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Malt Whisky VoucherClick here.

Making Whisky

The magical processes used to create whisky have
not changed a great deal over the years. Some of the more traditional
techniques have fallen by the wayside as distilleries introduce more efficient,
modern apparatus but as other countries have found, it is impossible to create
Scotch anywhere else in the world with even the most scientific methods at your
disposal. Whether it is the water, geography, climate, techniques used or some
form of combination of these, it's not known for sure. All we do know is that
whatever it is, it works! The main rules that define what makes ‘Scotch whisky’
are as follows - it must be made at a
Scottish distillery using water and malted barley - it must spend at least three years maturing
in oak casks - the whisky must be
matured in Scotland IngredientsThe main ingredients used in making
whisky form a short list: Water - most of Scotland's water is
very soft. Soft water will absorb more from the malted barley used to make
whisky, than hard water will, which might offer a reason as to why it seems to
make a suitable ingredient for whisky. Some also believe that peaty water will
have an influence on the whisky, helping to give a peaty flavour to the drink.
Otherwise the different waters used by distilleries should not affect the
finished product too much. The most important factor for the distillery is that
they have a large supply of water. Malt - malted barley, or malt, is
always used for malt whisky, not surprisingly. In contrast, grain whiskies will
use maize or other cereals. Malt is explained in more detail below. Yeast
- one of the less significant factors when it comes to the flavour of the
whisky, but nevertheless a crucial element as the yeast is used to trigger the
chemical process that converts sugars in the malted barley into alcohol. Peat
- peat is basically decayed vegetation that has not broken down in the soil due
to poor drainage in the land. Cut from marshland bogs, it is used as fuel and
in the case of whisky, as a fuel for halting the maturation process of the
barley once it has begun to germinate. It adds a smoky flavour to whisky which
is usually associated with the Island malts, particularly Islay whiskies, but
is present in virtually all malts in varying degrees. Malting Once the barley has arrived at the
distillery it is steeped in water to allow the germination process to begin.
Shoots begin to grow from the grains of barley as a result. Before the
germination can go too far and the barley grain begins to consume its own sugar
in order to grow, it is heated to halt the process, by kilning the barley. It
is at this stage that peat is used to introduce its flavour to greatest effect.
Peat was traditionally the fuel used for drying and slightly cooking the malted
barley in many parts of Scotland and is still used for the flavours it
imparts. Depending on whether a
distillery is using traditional floor maltings where the germinating barley is
spread thinly on the floor, or a more modern system such as a rotary drum which
allows the barley to be aired and heated more uniformly, the malting process
can take between 20 and 48 hours. From here the malt will be ground down, or
milled, ready for mashing. MashingWarm water is added to the milled, malted
barley which is then fed into a large, circular vessel called a mash-tun to
allow the mashing to take place. Mashing is the stage where the starches in the
barley convert to sugars which will later be fermented into alcohol. The mash-tun
will contain either mechanical rakes or rotating blades that stir the mash.
Slots in the base of the mash-tun allow the now sugary liquid, called ‘wort’,
to run off. The wort will be recycled through the mash-tun three or four times
before moving onto to be allowed to ferment.
Fermentation By this stage the liquid is ready for
fermentation. In a wash-back the wort has yeast added to it to encourage the
chemical reaction that converts the sugars to alcohol. Washbacks were
traditionally made of wood, although some distilleries now use stainless steel.
While more time consuming to clean out and less sterile, it is reckoned by some
distillery managers that using wooden vessels does add to the flavour of the
whisky. DistillationScottish
whisky distilleries use pot-stills to distill the spirit that will become
whisky. Pot-stills, the copper icons of the whisky industry, offer a means of
evaporating the alcohol, which turns to vapour before water does, which is then
condensed and collected after escaping through the neck of the still. The exact
shape of the still, its height, the shape and length of the neck, the fact that
the still is made from copper rather than another metal, all play their part in
making each whisky individual. The use of copper in making stills is crucial,
as it’s only this metal that will remove some of the unwanted elements from the
spirit – experiments with stainless steel have proved the importance of the
metal used in the still. The liquid will typically be distilled twice, first in
a larger ‘wash’ still, then in a ‘low wines’ or ‘spirit’ still in order to
collect the ‘heart of the run’, the batch of spirit that the stillman knows
will be suitable for maturing as whisky.
Maturation Scotch whisky is always matured in oak casks.
The exact type of wood used in the maturation stage and what the cask has been
used for prior to being filled with whisky lends a great deal to the final
flavour of the whisky when it is bottled. Oak is sourced from America and Spain
– the right choice of oak being crucial. New oak is never used for maturing
whisky as the wood will lend too much flavour to the spirit. For the majority
of whiskies, casks that have been used for maturing bourbon are used. American
law prevents bourbon producers from using casks twice, so after being used, a
cask is of little use to the bourbon industry. The Scotch whisky industry
benefits from this, with the practice guaranteeing a steady supply of
ex-bourbon casks. Some distillers will use ex-sherry casks from Spain instead,
perhaps the most famous being The Macallan, which uses ex-oloroso sherry
casks. While some whiskies spend their
whole lives in the cask they were first poured into, some distilleries will use
a second stage of maturation to add a different edge to the whisky. Glenmorange
are one of the bigger producers of whisky that have done just this with their
range of malts, which have Madeira, Port and Sherry finishes achieved by a
maturation in a second barrel. Recent limited edition bottlings have also seen
Malaga, Fino Sherry, Cognac, Bordeaux, Cote de Nuits finishes. Just how long the whisky will mature before
it is bottled is another complex question. Three years is the legal minimum but
most will spend much longer, depending partly on how quickly the whisky 'grows
up' which will vary from one whisky to the next. Over time, flavours from the
environment that the distillery is in such as salty seaside air may offer its
own particular effects. Some whisky will also be lost gradually through time as
a very slow evaporation occurs through the pores of the wooden cask. Seeping
out at a rate of roughly 1-2% a year, this loss is known as the 'angels share.'
When the distillery sees fit, the whisky will be bottled.

1. Scotch grain whisky is usually made from 10-20% malted barley and then other
unmalted cereals such as maize or wheat. The starch in the non-malted cereals
is released by pre-cooking and converted into fermentable sugars. The mashing
and fermentation processes are similar to those used for malt whisky.

2. The wash is distilled in a continuous or Coffey
still, named after its inventor Aeneas Coffey. It has two tall columns - a
rectifier and an analyser. Cold wash is pumped in at the top of the rectifier
and meets steam. The columns in fact act like a heat exchanger. The alcohol is
cooled, condenses and flows away as Scotch grain spirit at about 94% alcohol by
volume.

3. The distilled grain spirit is lighter in
character and aroma than most malt whiskies and therefore requires rather less
time to mature. The bulk of matured grain whisky is used for blending.

THE MATURATION
PROCESS

While maturing, the whisky becomes smoother, gains flavour, and draws its
golden colour from the cask. A proportion of the higher alcohols turn into
esters and other complex compounds which subtly enhance each whisky's
distinctive characteristics.

By law all Scotch whisky must be matured for at
least 3 years, but most single malts lie in the wood for 8, 10, 12, 15 years or
longer. Customs & Excise allow for a maximum of 2% of the whisky to
evaporate from the cask each year - the Angels' Share. Unlike wine, whisky does
not mature further once it is in the bottle.

THE ART OF BLENDING

While the distinctive single malts produced by individual distilleries are
becoming increasingly popular, blending creates over 90% of the Scotch whisky
enjoyed throughout the world.

By nosing samples in tulip-shaped glasses the
blender selects from a wide palate - from the numerous Highland and Speyside
malts to the strongly flavoured and peaty Island malts, and the softer and
lighter Lowland malts. These malts are combined with grain whiskies - usually
60-80% grain whiskies to 20-40% malt whiskies, and are then left to 'marry' in
casks before being bottled as one of the world-renowned blended whiskies.

A blend of a range of malt whiskies, with no grain whisky included, is known as
a vatted malt.

The way we make Scotch whisky has evolved over
several centuries, but the history of Scotch whisky embraces a much wider
heritage; that of Scotland and its people.

What are the
main kinds of Scotch Whisky?

There are two kinds of Scotch Whisky - Malt Whisky
and Grain Whisky. The Malt Whiskies are divided into four groups according to
the geographical location of the distilleries in which they are made, as
follows:

(1) Lowland Malt Whiskies, made
south of an imaginary line drawn from Dundee in the east to Greenock in the
west.

(2) Highland
Malt Whiskies, made north of that line.

(3) Speyside
Malt Whiskies, from the valley of the River Spey. Although these whiskies
come from within the area designated as Highland Malt Whiskies, the
concentration of distilleries and the specific climatic conditions produce a
whisky of an identifiable character and require a separate classification.

(4) Islay
Malt Whiskies, from the island of Islay.

Each group has its own clearly defined
characteristics, ranging from the lighter Lowland Malt Whiskies to those
distilled on Islay which are generally regarded as the heaviest Malt Whiskies.

Malt Whiskies, which differ considerably in flavour
according to the distillery from which they come, have a more pronounced
bouquet and flavour than the Grain Whiskies. The production of Grain Whisky is
not so influenced by geographical factors and it may be distilled anywhere in
Scotland.

What gives
Scotch Whisky its distinctive flavour and bouquet?

This is one of the mysteries of the industry and a secret which many imitators
of Scotch Whisky have tried in vain to discover. Many theories and explanations
have been put forward, but there is no universally accepted solution.

The distilling process itself is one factor. Scotch
Whisky, after it has been distilled, contains not only ethyl alcohol and water
but certain secondary constituents. The exact nature of these is not fully
understood, but it is believed they include some of the essential oils from the
malted barley and other cereals and substances that derive from the peat. The
amount of these secondary constituents retained in the spirit depends upon the
shape of the still and the way it is operated and also on the strength at which
the spirit is drawn off. Grain Whisky, because of the process by which it is
made, contains fewer secondary constituents than Malt Whisky and is accordingly
milder in flavour and aroma.

The natural elements of water, peat and the Scottish
climate all certainly have a profound effect on the flavour of Scotch Whisky.
Water is probably the most important single factor and a source of good, soft
water is essential to a distillery. Peat, which is used in the kiln or oven in
which the malt is dried, also has an influence that can be detected in the
‘peaty’ or smoky flavour of many Scotch Whiskies.

The Scottish climate is extremely important,
particularly when the whisky is maturing. At this stage the soft air permeates
the casks and works on the whisky, eliminating harsher constituents to produce
a mellow whisky.

Why do
whiskies produced in different distilleries vary in flavour?

This again is a question which it is very difficult
to answer with certainty. Most people would agree that the water used is the
decisive factor. Adjoining distilleries which draw their water from different
sources are known to produce whiskies that are quite dissimilar in flavour.

The size and shape of the stills are also important
as are the skill and experience of the men who manage them. It is the objective
of the distiller to produce a whisky whose flavour and character remain
consistent at all times and in all circumstances. This is the true art of
distilling, acquired only after many years and often handed down from one
generation to the next.

How many distilleries are there?

There are around 100 Pot Still Malt distilleries and Grain, or Patent Still,
distilleries in Scotland; but the number working can vary from year to year.

Can Scotch Whisky be made only in
Scotland?

Yes. Many other products which were originally manufactured only in a
particular locality have lost their geographical significance and can now be
manufactured anywhere. The word ‘Scotch’, however, as applied to whisky, has
retained its geographical significance. This is widely recognised in law
throughout the world. Thus, whisky may be described as Scotch Whisky only if it
has been wholly distilled and matured in Scotland for a minimum of 3 years.

If you could duplicate exactly a Scotch
Whisky distillery in, say, Brazil or Spain, could you produce Scotch?

No. For the reason given in the preceding answer, whisky can be called ‘Scotch’
only if it is distilled and matured in Scotland. Whisky produced in Brazil is
‘Brazilian Whisky’ or in Spain ‘Spanish Whisky’. Attempts have been made to
copy the unique flavour of Scotch Whiskies in many parts of the world, but with
no success whatsoever.

What is
blending? What is its purpose?

A number of distilleries bottle and sell some of the whisky they distil for
consumption as single or unblended whiskies. By far the greater part of their
production, however, is used for the well-known blended Scotch Whiskies that
are sold all over the world.

Blending whisky is a considerable art
acquired only after years of experience.

A blend will consist of anything from 15 to 50
different single whiskies, combined in the proportions of a formula that is the
secret of the blending company concerned.

Whiskies from different distilleries have a
character of their own and, just as people of different temperaments are often
incompatible, so some whiskies will not blend happily with certain others. The
Malts and Grains in a blend must therefore, be chosen to complement and enhance
their respective flavours. Blending is in no sense a dilution. The blender's
task is to combine different single whiskies, to produce a blend which brings
out the best qualities of each of its constituent parts.

The aim of the
blender is first to produce a whisky of a definite and recognisable character.

It is of the greatest importance that his blend should never vary from this
standard, which his customers all over the world will have come to expect. His
second aim is, therefore, to achieve consistency.

The blender must also decide when the different
single whiskies are ready to be used in his blend. They are brought from the
warehouse where they have been maturing to the blending establishment, where
they are mixed together in a blending vat. They are usually returned to cask
and left to ‘marry’ for a period of months, before bottling. Some companies
prefer to vat their Malts and Grains separately and only bring the two together
before bottling.

The combining of Malt with Malt or Grain with Grain
is known as vatting.

The origins of malt whisky distilling in
Scotland are lost in the mists of antiquity. They date back at least to the
monks of the 15'" century and probably long before.

Although the distillers' art has been understood
since earliest times, the subtle aromas and flavours of whisky have never been
fully explained, even today. The ancient term using beatha, which is Gaelic for
the Latin aqua vitae or 'water of life', was corrupted in the 18'" century
to usky, and then to whisky. The following description is a generalisation of
the process.

It should be remembered that each distillery has its
own unique specifications.

1. Malting

Best quality barley is first steeped in water and then spread out on malting
floors to germinate. It is turned regularly to prevent the build up of heat.
Traditionally, this was done by tossing the barley into the air with wooden
shovels in a malt barn adjacent to the kiln.

During this process enzymes are activated which
convert the starch into sugar when mashing takes place. After 6 to 7 days of
germination the barley, now called green malt, goes to the kiln for drying.
This halts the germination. The heat is kept below 70°C so that the enzymes are
not destroyed. Peat may be added to the fire to impart flavour from the smoke.

2. Mashing

The dried malt is ground into a coarse flour or grist, which is mixed with hot
water in the mash tun. The water is added in 3 stages and gets hotter at each
stage, starting around 67°C and rising to almost boiling point.

The quality of the pure Scottish water is important.
The mash is stirred, helping to convert the starches to sugar. After mashing,
the sweet sugary liquid is known as wort. The spent grains - the draff - is
processed into cattle feed.

3.
Fermentation

The wort is cooled to 20°C and pumped into washbacks, where yeast is added and
fermentation begins. The living yeast feeds on the sugars, producing alcohol
and small quantities of other compounds known as congeners, which contribute to
the flavour of the whisky. Carbon dioxide is also produced and the wash froths
violently. Revolving switchers cut the head to prevent it overflowing. After
about 2 days the fermentation dies down and the wash contains 6-8% alcohol by
volume.

4. Pot Stills

In some mysterious way the shape of the pot still affects the character of the
individual malt whisky, and each distillery keeps its stills exactly the same
over the years.

In distillation, the still is heated to just below
the boiling point of water and the alcohol and other compounds vaporize and
pass over the neck of the still into either a condenser or a worm - a large
copper coil immersed in cold running water where the vapour is condensed into a
liquid.

5. Distillation
The wash is distilled twice - first in the wash still, to separate the alcohol
from the water, yeast and residue called pot ale - the solids of which are also
saved for use in animal feeds.

The distillate from the wash still, known as low
wines, and containing about 20% alcohol by volume, then goes to the spirit
still for the second distillation. The more volatile compounds which distil off
first - the foreshots, and the final runnings called feints where more oily
compounds are vaporized, are both channelled off to be redistilled when mixed
with the low wines in the next batch.

Only the pure centre cut, or heart of the run, which
is about 68% alcohol by volume is collected in the spirit receiver.

6. Spirit Safe

All the distillates pass through the spirit safe - whose locks were
traditionally controlled by the Customs & Excise. The stillman uses all his
years of experience to test and judge the various distillates without being
able to come into physical contact with the spirit.

The newly distilled, colourless, fiery spirit
reduced to maturing strength, 63% alcohol by volume, is filled into oak casks
which may have previously contained Scotch whisky, bourbon or sherry, and the
maturation process begins.

The liquids and solids remaining after distillation are not wasted, nor are
they allowed to pollute rivers or coastlines. In recent years the Scotch Whisky
industry has invested heavily in developing methods of treating the residue of
distillation so that it now makes an important contribution to the animal
foodstuffs industry.
Most distilleries now possess by-products plants or, in the case of smaller
distilleries in remote areas, send their waste material to the area plants
which process it into dark grains. These are extremely rich in protein and are
sold in palletised form to farmers who use them to enrich cattle food.

Grain Whisky distilleries usually recover the carbon
dioxide produced during the fermentation stage. This has several applications
in industry and in the production of soft drinks.

What is meant
by Under Bond and Duty Paid sales, respectively?

(a) Sales Under Bond are sales on which the Excise Duty has not been paid. The
goods are consigned to a bonded duty-free warehouse.
(b) Sales Duty Paid are sales on which the Excise Duty has already been paid.

What is the
origin of the name 'whisky'?

The term ‘whisky’ derives originally from the Gaelic
‘uisge beatha’, or ‘usquebaugh’, meaning ‘water of life’. Gaelic is that branch
of Celtic spoken in the Highlands of Scotland.

When was
Scotch Whisky first distilled?
Whisky has been distilled in Scotland for hundreds of years. There is some
evidence to show that the art of distilling could have been brought to the
country by Christian missionary monks, but it has never been proved that
Highland farmers did not themselves discover how to distil spirits from their
surplus barley.

The earliest historical reference to whisky comes much later, Mr J Marshall
Robb, in his book ‘Scotch Whisky’, says: ‘The oldest reference to whisky occurs
in the Scottish Exchequer Rolls for 1494,
where there is an entry of ‘eight bolls of malt to Friar John Cor wherewith to
make aquavitae’. A boll was an old Scottish measure of not more than six
bushels. (One bushel is equivalent to 25.4 kiIograms)

When King James IV was in Inverness during September
1506, his Treasurer’s Accounts had
entries for the 15th and 17th of the month respectively: ‘For aqua vite to the
King. . .’ and ‘For ane flacat of aqua vite to the King. . .’. lt is probable
that the aquavitae in this case was spirit for drinking.

The earliest reference to a distillery in the Acts
of the Scottish Parliament appears to be in 1690, when mention is made of the famous Ferintosh distillery owned
by Duncan Forbes of Culloden.

There is also a reference to distilling in a private
house in the parish of Gamrie in Banffshire in 1614. This occurs in the Register of the Privy Council, where a man
accused of the crime of breaking into a private house, combined with assault,
was said to have knocked over some ‘aquavitie’.

One of the earliest references to ‘uiskie’ occurs in
the funeral account of a Highland laird about 1618.

An unpublished letter of February 1622, written by Sir Duncan Campbell of
Glenorchy to the Earl of Mar, reported that certain officers sent to Glenorchy
by the King had been given the best entertainment that the season and the
country allowed. It stated: ‘For they wantit not wine nor aquavite.’ This
‘aquavite’ was no doubt locally distilled whisky.

Another writer affirms that aquavitae occasionally
formed part of the rent paid for Highland farms, at any rate in Perthshire, but
no actual date is given for this practice.

What is the history of charging duty on Scotch Whisky?
The Scots Parliament in 1644 passed
an Excise Act fixing the duty at 2/8d (13p) per pint of aquavitae or other
strong liquor - the Scots pint being approximately one third of a gallon. For
the remainder of the 17th century various alterations were made to the types
and amounts of duty collected.

After the Union of the Parliaments in 1707, English revenue staff crossed the
border to begin their lengthy attempts to bring whisky production under
control. Ninety years later the excise laws were in such a hopeless state of
confusion that no two distilleries were taxed at the same rate. Illicit
distilling flourished, the smugglers seeing no good reason for paying for the
privilege of making their native drink.

After a lengthy Royal Commission, the Act of 1823 sanctioned legal distilling at a
duty of 2/3d (12p) per gallon for stills with a capacity of more than 40
gallons. There was a licence fee of £10 annually and no stills under the legal
limit were allowed. The first distillery came into ‘official’ existence in the
following year and thereafter many of the more far-sighted distillers came over
on to the side of the law.

In 1840,
the duty was 5d (2.5p) per bottle and by the beginning of the First World War
it had risen to 1/81/2d (9p). In 1939, a typical bottle of Scotch Whisky cost
14/3d (72p) of which 9/71/2d (48p) was duty. By 1992, after a succession of
duty increases, the same bottle was costing around £10.80. The duty on it was
£5.55, equivalent to £19.81 per litre of pure alcohol.

In 1995,
for the first time in one hundred years, the tax on Scotch Whisky was reduced.
Duty fell from £5.77 to £5.54 a bottle (70cl). In 1996, the tax on Scotch
Whisky was again reduced.

Since 1973
the price of a bottle of whisky, including the Excise Duty, has been subject to
a Value Added Tax.

Unlike Malt Whisky, Grain Whisky is distilled in a continuous operation in a
Patent Still. This is sometimes known as the Coffey Still, after Aeneas Coffey,
who developed it in 1831.

Steam is fed into the base of the analyser and hot wash into the top. As the
two meet on the surface of the perforated plates, the wash boils and a mixture
of alcohol vapours and uncondensed steam rises to the top of the column. The
spent wash runs down and is led off from the base.

The hot vapours enter the rectifier at the base and
as they rise through the chambers they partially condense on the sections of a
long coil through which wash is flowing. The spirit vapour condenses at the top
of the rectifier and is run off through a water-cooled condenser to the spirit
safe and on to the spirit receiver. Once the spirit begins to be collected it
runs continuously until the end of distillation.

Because of the rectifying element present in this
process the distillate is generally lighter in aroma than most Malt Whiskies.
It consequently has a milder character and requires less time to mature.

What is the
worm?

The worm and its surrounding bath of cold running water, or worm-tub, form
together the condenser unit of the Pot Still process of manufacture. The worm
itself is a coiled copper tube of decreasing diameter attached by the lyne arm
to the head of the Pot Still and kept continuously cold by running water. In it
the vapours from the still condense. Fed by the still, it in turn feeds the
receiving vessel with the condensed distillate.

The worm is being replaced gradually by the more modern tubular condenser.

What are low
wines?

This is the name given to the product of the first distillation in the Pot
Still process of manufacture. It is the distillate derived from the wash and
contains all the alcohol and secondary constituents and some water. It forms
the raw material of the second distillation, which is carried out in the Spirit
Still. The feints and foreshots are added to the low wines when the Spirit
Still is charged.

What is pot
ale?

Pot ale, alternatively burnt ale, is the liquor left in the Wash Still after
the first distillation in the Pot Still process. It is the residue of the wash
after the extraction by distillation of the low wines.

What are
foreshots?

Foreshots is the term applied to the first fraction of the distillate received
during the distillation of the low wines in the Spirit Still used in the Pot
Still process of manufacture. They form the first raw runnings of this second
distillation and their collection is terminated by the judgement of the
stillman. The following fraction of the distillate is the potable spirit. The
foreshots are returned to the still, together with the feints.

What are
feints?

Feints is the name given to the third fraction of the distillate received from
the second distillation in the Pot Still process. They form the undesirable
last runnings of the distillation. As noted above, they are returned with the
foreshots to the Spirit Still when it is recharged with low wines.
The term is also applied to the first and last runnings from the Patent Still,
in which process they are returned to the wash for re-distillation.

The feints and foreshots from the last distillation
of the season are kept for adding to the first low wines of the succeeding
season.

What are spent
lees?

Spent lees are the residue in the Spirit Still after the distillation of the
foreshots, potable spirits, and feints. They are usually treated and run to
waste.

What is draff?

Draff is the spent grain left in the mash-tun after the liquor, wort, has been
drawn off. It represents, as a rule, about 25 per cent of the malt and unmalted
cereals, if any, put into the mash-tun. Draff enjoys a large market as cattle
food.

To saccharify means to convert to sugar. In whisky distilling it refers to the
process which takes place during the malting and mash-tun stages by which
enzymes in the malt, referred to as diastase, turn the starch in the cereals
into sugar ready for the fermenting action of the yeast.

What is
diastase?

When conditions of temperature and moisture favour germination, the embryo and
associated parts of the barley grain secrete a mixture of enzymes commonly
known as diastase. These act to modify and make soluble the starch in the
barley, thus preparing it for conversion at a later stage to maltose.

What is wort?

Wort is the liquid drawn off the mash-tun in which the malted and unmalted
cereals have been mashed with warm water. Wort contains all the sugars of the
malt and certain secondary constituents. After cooling, it is passed to the
fermenting vats. In Malt distilleries the cereals are all malted; in Grain
distilleries a proportion only is malted, the remainder being unmalted. In some
cases, Grain distilleries do not separate off wort, passing the complete mash
to the fermentation vessels.

What is wash?

The wort or mash technically becomes wash as soon as yeast is added to start
fermentation. However, the term is usually used to refer to the liquid at the
end of the fermentation. It is the wash which forms the raw material of the
first distillation in the Pot Still process and of the only distillation in the
Patent Still process.

What is the
pot still distillation?

Malt Whisky is distilled twice - although a few distilleries may undertake a
third distillation - in Pot Stills which resemble huge copper kettles.

The spirit is driven off from the fermented liquid as a vapour and then
condensed back to a liquid.

In the first distillation the fermented liquid, or wash, is put into the Wash
Still, which is heated either directly by fire or by steam-heated coils.

At this stage the wash contains yeast, crude alcohol, some unfermentable matter
and the by-products of fermentation. During the process of boiling the wash,
changes take place in its constituents which are vital to the flavour and
character of the whisky.

As the wash boils, vapours pass up the neck of the
still and then pass through a water-cooled condenser or a worm, a coiled copper
pipe of decreasing diameter enclosed in a water jacket through which cold water
circulates.

This condenses the vapours and the resulting distillate, known as low wines, is
collected for re-distilling. The liquor remaining in the Wash Still is known as
pot ale or burnt ale and is usually treated and converted into distillers’
solubles for animal feed.

The low wines are distilled again in the Spirit
Still, similar in appearance and construction to the Wash Still but smaller
because the bulk of liquid to be dealt with is less. Three fractions are
obtained from the distillation in the Spirit Still. The first is termed
foreshots, the second constitutes the potable spirit, and the third is called
feints. The foreshots and feints are returned to the process and redistilled in
the Spirit Still with the succeeding charge of low wines. The residue in the
still, called spent lees, is run to waste.

In the case of the Spirit Still, the design of the
still, the height of the head (or top) of the still and the angle of the
wide-diameter pipe or lyne arm, connecting the head to the condensing unit, are
all very important and have an effect on the distillate.

The Pot Still has changed little in general design
over the centuries.